Observational Foundations of Physics

This intriguing book examines the questions of how the ways in which we observe the world determine theories of physics and how we can get reliable results that enable us to make secure predictions. The first chapters deal with the theories of quantum mechanics and relativity and are followed by a discussion of chaotic dynamics. The uncertainty of observations and probabilistic agruments in physics are then treated. Finally, it is argued that the success of prediction is reason for believing in the existence of a world independent of ourselves.

The central models of theoretical physics have been extraordinarily successful in describing and predicting the behavior of physical systems under an enormous range of conditions. But why are these mathematical theories so successful, and how is their structure influenced by the nature of the observations on which they are inevitably based? This intriguing book examines these subtle and fundamental issues, and investigates the complex interdependency of theory and experiment.Dealing with important and basic aspects of the general framework of physics, this book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students in the physical sciences, and to anyone with an interest in the empirical and metaphysical foundations of science.